


Revolution

by metamorcy



Category: Actor RPF, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Frostpudding, M/M, Romance, Smut for later chapters, Tomki
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-06
Updated: 2015-07-14
Packaged: 2018-01-18 08:37:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1421743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metamorcy/pseuds/metamorcy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Loki escapes Asgard, he stumbles across a rip among the pathways into an alternate Midgard, similar to the one he had invaded with the Chitauri army. However, on the other side of the rip, he finds out that everything he had thought was real is nothing more than a movie, a comic, to everyone else. Despite the strangeness, he has no choice but to hide among this alternate Midgard from the Allfather and finds his interest sparking when he discovers the mortal that shares his face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Escaping from Asgard, despite all the magical and physical barriers in place to prevent such a thing from happening, had been child's play. It was too easy and it had only taken him three days into his confinement after being sentenced. Originally, he was to be imprisoned until he had learned his lesson, to make right of his wrongs, but Loki had no plans to do such a thing. He wouldn't change for Odin, never for that bastard of a man.

Of course, Loki wasn't stupid to escape immediately after being just placed within the cell. It was too close, too soon, and he needed to rest to make sure that his strength had fully returned to him, banishing any remaining hold Thanos had over him. It was gone within a month, after some struggling, never to be returned or reapplied. He was finally free, finally able to think for himself, and he reminisced in the delight of watching Thanos' army getting destroyed effectively by the very humans the Mad Titan wanted killed. He could already see the displeasure on the Mad Titan's face despite having his fulfillment with Death. Now, Thanos wouldn't have an army to do anything for a long time and wouldn't be able to bother with him either, not when his attention was drawn to Earth and their mighty heroes who had laid waste to his army. It was wonderful and everything had worked out perfectly despite all the inconveniences and pain he had suffered.

So a few months into his imprisonment (he had lost count out of mere annoyance), he heard of the unrest through the guards' whispering between Asgard and Muspelheim. According to the whispers, war wasn't upon Asgard, it was just a breakout of minor skirmishes, but the people of Asgard were guarded nonetheless. Loki smirked, he knew that peace would never last long for the Aesirs, and waited just a week more before finally making his move. It had been too easy.

Apparently, Asgard hadn't thought about his knowledge of everything that was used within the kingdom – something he had made sure to memorize since young. After all, he had helped create these barriers in the prisons in the first place and no doubt remembered all the weaknesses, some he had purposefully placed just in case. He always had a feeling they would be used against him in the future, just as they were now. During the middle of the night, when the final round of guards had passed by, the barriers that had contained him for the past few months shattered, ending his sentence. With his release, and nothing to prevent his magic from flowing, he immediately used his spells to cover his disappearance and escaped.

Disappearing into the darkness of the night - something he had done since young - was easy and within moments of his escape, he had already vanished into one of Yggdrasill's numerous pathways. Thirty minutes later, he paused only for a second, automatically keeping up his barrier to prevent Heimdall from seeing him, and thought to himself. Loki knew he needed a place to hide, a place where he could blend in effectively with little to no chances of his identity being revealed. However, that made things hard. He was known to all by name and though his face was far less known, it wouldn't be long before people began to make the connections at his escape. In thinking that, all of the Nine Realms were out of the question, his presence too easy to recognize.

Grinding his teeth together, he closed his eyes as he sought out a realm he could disappear into for the next couple of years. He automatically thought of Midgard and its vast world and population, but his previous appearance there had clearly made him an enemy to the humans. No doubt Thor would head there first to alert the heroes about his escape and to keep them on the lookout for him. Even if he managed to explain what truly happened behind the scenes of the entire war, no one would believe him. He was known as Liesmith, Silvertongue, and the God of Lies, after all. Loki shook his head, he couldn't head there, but he needed some place similar. There were other realms like Alfheim that would welcome him willingly, even hide him due to their hatred towards Odin, but it was out of the question. They would probably look there first anyway. Loki thought of his daughter's realm, but pushed that aside as well. It was too obvious.

He needed some place that was far, too unheard of, and was just as big as Midgard. However, that probably didn't exist. He knew everything about the realms, except for Jotunheim, but even he wouldn't go there. As his mind continued to wander over the various realms, he suddenly came across a small rip upon the pathways. Curious, he slipped closer and peered through to the other side once he found it oddly stable.

"Well, well…" Loki opened his eyes and teleported towards the rip to get closer, staring over it in amazement. He hadn't expected this, never heard of something like this. The world on the other side was just like Midgard, the feeling and life similar, but it was different. The sensations that roamed this place were the complete opposite compared to the one he was used to. He sensed no magic, no powers, nothing. It was a monotonous world, filled with nothing but the dull essence of life, but it would definitely suit his purpose in hiding. He could blend in with ease, vanishing into the crowds, never to be seen unless he wished it. The only problem was the tear.

His eyes examined the rip itself, finding it large enough to simply walk through. It was unusual and it appeared recent in the making, a scent of snow and… something he couldn't quite put his finger on lingering in his nostrils. However, it was strangely stable despite its nature. Was this another realm that's never been discovered before? Or was it an alternate realm to another? Loki gazed closer at the other side. It was far too close to Midgard in terms of structure and the humans that dwelled there. He even recognized a few fleeting faces to those he had caught by chance. His guess was leading towards the latter of all the factors. Still, his interest was far too strong to ignore. He wanted to explore, his inner curiosity eating him.

Though, he knew he would need to keep himself covered and hidden away to prevent drawing attention from outside this realm. Any outlandish killing (not that he was really keen on doing such things despite what people thought) had to be taken out of the equation. Now that he could think clearly without any outside influence, it made things easier to form within his mind and he could finally begin to regain the parts of himself he had lost to the void and Thanos. It would take a while, but he would get them and combine it with his present self. There was also his magic to take into consideration. He would need to limit himself or else Heimdall, or even Odin, would find him just by sensing. He couldn't allow that, not at all, not when he was finally free. Once he'd arrived and gotten settled, he would then be able to investigate just how far he could go, but until then, he first needed to arrive on the other side. Loki tilted his head slightly. He also needed to close the rip to prevent anyone else from following him easily and, luckily for him, he was familiar with the pathways enough to find his way back from the other side even if sealed away. He wasn't stupid to leave himself without a way out, trapped like an animal.

Smirking and without any hesitation, Loki took the first jump in and hoped that maybe things would be better now that he was free. Maybe he could _finally_ get away from his family. He snorted. It was a foolish thought, but it was something he wanted regardless. He wanted to be free, free from his family, free from his responsibilities, and definitely be free from his idiotic older brother, Thor. Truthfully, he loved Thor dearly despite everything that had happened between them, but loving Thor was a package deal with Odin, one he couldn't bear to have. He could say the same thing for Frigga as well.

As he fell into the new world, he watched over everything carefully, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. He couldn't afford any screw ups. Loki smirked. He wasn't just a trickster after all. As he landed on his feet at a grassy field out on the outskirts of a city, Loki sighed blissfully, feeling empowered. No one here had magic, the world itself didn't have magic, and to him, it meant no one would have the power to stop him. "Perfect."

Loki glanced around the area and chuckled, keeping himself invisible to everyone's eyes. He was going to have fun in this alternative Midgard. It's been a long time since he's truly been able to act on mischief alone, nothing more than harmless fun. Loki licked his lips. However, when a warm scent filled his nostrils, he groaned hungrily. Perhaps after some food. It's been _far_ too long since he's been able to really eat, much less have a decent meal. Yeah, mischief after filling his stomach.

* * *

Three weeks had passed since his arrival on this alternate Midgard and he found his time here completely peaceful. There were no superheroes, no SHIELD, no aliens of any kind except for him. It got boring since he didn't have anyone to fight with, but he took it in stride. Still, he spent those weeks messing around with the humans in their daily lives, from keeping the alarms silent to making them trip when they were busy. They were small things that would lighten up his day. And the food, he loved Midgardian food. It was delicious, _especially_ those sweets.

Back in Asgard, they didn't have anything close to it since his home realm only had roasted meat, fruit, and bread. The sweetest thing they had was honey and even that became boring after a few hundred years of eating the same thing. Of course, he needed to steal in order to get food, unsure about Midgard's currency and ways of buying. However, once he'd figured that out, he began stealing money out of the humans' wallets and began ordering, sampling whatever he could in content.

During that time, Loki came to find out that he had managed to land in America, the place where it had ended for him. It was ironic. As he wandered the streets of California during the end of his first three weeks, it was there that he found out that, to this realm, the original Midgard was nothing more than a comic book. It had been surprising to hear and read such a thing, but he had accepted it. It wasn't surprising despite how… strange it was to him. It was only then that he became interested in the movie version that involved him and the rest of the Avengers.

At first, he had been upset, angry even, about his whole life being out in the open, to be seen, to be read, but when he saw the way those females, those human girls, worshipped and adored him, Loki changed his mind. He liked this type of appreciation. He liked being worshipped. For this, it was better than just being hated like he was back on Asgard. _This_ he could deal with, _this_ he wanted. Loki didn't want to be hated. He wanted to be loved for who he was. Of course, the title God of Mischief, Lies, Chaos, and Fire didn't grant him any favours on that subject from his own people.

Time continued to move forward and Loki spent the next month learning about the Avengers, his once enemies. He took time in watching the movies in people's homes, which he broke into obviously and it wasn't hard with magic on his side. It was the only way he could since he had no place of his own and he had no identity to gain one. Anyway, the movies managed to fill in certain blanks with the history Barton had told him, connecting all the pieces together almost perfectly. Loki smirked. Next time, if he ever had to face the Avengers again, he would already know their thoughts and weaknesses. Still, when it came to the movie 'The Avengers', the God of Chaos found most of the information pretty exact. It was odd seeing his time under Thanos' control from another perspective and even more so to watch the humans on this Midgard figure out the hidden truth behind everything that had happened. It was far too obvious that he had been taken in by Thanos and twisted into how he had become.

The only movie that threw him off was 'Thor: The Dark World'. It was different than what was really happening. The dark elves never came, Jane never found the Aether. Though he did take points on the location and make a note to investigate it later on. Nonetheless, he didn't like the story despite how good it was. He, Loki, could never become that individual there on the screen. He was angry, yes, but not that angry. In all honesty, he had given up on his family and simply wanted to be left alone. He didn't want to be near them, he didn't want to interact with them. And as he examined it closer, the Loki in the movie acted like he was still under control. Perhaps Thanos had bent himself on that side for far too long to return to how he was now.

Loki closed his eyes at that thought. He had been lucky to gain parts of himself back, parts that made him feel whole, and reconnect with who he was before Thor's banishment. Shaking his head to push those thoughts away, his interest in the movies never decreased and he was saddened that there weren't any newer films coming out for a while. He had learned much through them and craved for more.

As Loki stretched from his spot on the floor, glancing momentarily around his surroundings, he let out a blissful sigh at the peace and quiet around him. He was temporarily staying in an abandoned building, using some forgotten cot that had probably once belonged to someone else. It was dirty and it reeked, but he had to make do. He couldn't be picky in his situation after all, and there were times when he broke into empty houses where people had obviously left for vacation or worked nights to rest. Those beds were much more comfortable. It became a game at times and he always made sure to wake up the moment the car arrived in the driveway to slip out after fixing his mess. Loki wasn't exactly keen on leaving anything behind to give himself away.

"I guess it's time for breakfast," Loki muttered under his breath, changing his clothes to something Midgardian. It was simple, nothing too fancy to make himself stand out, before changing some of his features. With his face well known among the world, he couldn't allow himself to be recognized. "Maybe some donuts today…" Tapping his bottom lip, he teleported into an alleyway of a street and wandered out, observing his surroundings.

He wandered about a little bit before finally entering the bakery, peering up at the television attached to the wall. He listened to the news for a few comments, still finding it weird to not hear anything about the Avengers or know which villain has done what. Now it was all about small crimes and skirmishes between countries. How absolutely boring. He turned his attention to the cashier and made his order, pulling out a small black wallet he had taken long ago to contain his stolen cash.

The next day, he made a small earthquake in California as a wakeup call to the residents to see how much destruction he could employ, indulging his mischievous side. However, he found the news flooded with that one topic for days to come quite boring.

"I wonder though…" Loki glanced down at the three DVDs that contained his appearance and hummed to himself. He was curious about himself or well, the person that played him. Loki had observed the personality traits his lookalike had revealed in the interviews and gag reels from the DVDs and it was odd that despite their appearances, they were almost complete opposites.

Thomas 'Tom' Hiddleston was far too bright, too cheery, too everything that was contrary to Loki himself. No doubt the person played and acted great, knew how to shift from one persona to another like water. In a way, it was like Loki's shape shifting, almost effortlessly.

"Maybe I should see him…" The words were whispered, but the wish within them held true. He wanted to meet this 'Tom', watch him in his world, and see how he lived. Grinning at the idea, Loki switched the television off and stood up, using magic to get everything back to normal before he had entered this household. He glanced to the side where he noticed a small flash of brown and chuckled, reaching over to stroke the cat that had landed beside him. It purred under his touches and curled happily as if demanding more affection before giving a friendly lick. Loki chuckled once more, adoring the creature. "Well guess I should be off. You, my friend, won't be able to be spoiled by me any longer."

With a flash, he was gone, teleporting straight to England. He appeared in the site where in the latest Thor movie's final battle was located and glanced around curiously. His attention was caught when there was a startled scream from behind.

"Oops," He had forgotten to turn his invisibly back on. Loki smiled as he watched the woman scream in fright, finding it quite enjoyable, but with his somewhat wellknown appearance, he vanished before her eyes to prevent others from coming closer to find out what had happened. Of course, she screamed some more and he chuckled in amusement. Humans were far too entertaining at times.

"Now where to find him…" That was the hard part since Midgard tried to keep the addresses of their celebrities hidden from outsiders. Still, it wouldn't be hard to figure out after a little research. A small ounce of magic would give him the location right away. Loki chuckled, he really was going to have some fun in this world. He just knew it.


	2. Chapter 2

Loki had found him.

Despite the fact that he knew the outcome would be purely down to chance, he had gone looking anyway. However, in the end, it wasn't even that hard, especially when taking into consideration his powers. Loki, settled gracefully on top of a streetlight with his feet dangled over the edge, watched as the human jogged through the streets in the early morning. His emerald-colored orbs observed the human carefully, taking in every movement, every stretch, every twitch. It was interesting to see someone with his face move so very differently. While he was graceful and cared for each step he made, Tom didn't. And his interest only grew.

Throughout the next few days, Loki spent his time simply watching the mortal from a distance. There was no doubt that Loki felt boredom creep up on him many times, but he would take that dullness and use it to explore England for all its worth. There were a few good restaurants in the area, many he had taken a strong liking to, and he visited regularly to try out their menus. He found the sweetened teas and coffees most suited to his tastes and was thoroughly enjoying the freedom to add whatever condiment he desired.

Still, he continued to watch the human go about his regular routines until the sixth day. Tom suddenly paused in the middle of the hallway to his apartment. Loki found it odd, but remained on his perch on the windowsill, liking the cool breeze that came flowing in and fluttered through his shoulder-length hair. Tom narrowed his eyebrows over his grayish-blue eyes in confusion and suddenly looked around his apartment as if searching for something. Considering his personality it was an odd move, and Loki observed Tom as he wandered around his home but found nothing amiss. There was one point during the impromptu search where the human glanced towards Loki's direction and peered closer. The immortal froze, glad that he was invisible to all eyes, and watched as the actor turned away in puzzlement.

"He couldn't have sensed me… right?" Loki huffed lightly, not believing it. Tom was a mortal, he didn't have that ability. Still, regardless of that incident, he didn't stop his observations and the days went on. On the twelfth day, when Tom went for his morning run, Loki decided to wander away from the human, already having memorized the route his look-alike would take. There wasn't much that was new, he had learned all he had really needed, and Loki was desperate for some badly needed entertainment to keep his attention focused.

So he decided to do what he did best: mischief. Within an hour, he had released numerous dogs from their leashes, watched as the owners chased down their beloved pets, and made a few cars unable to start just to see the absolute frustration on the mortals' expressions. He laughed delightfully, enjoying the harmless chaos. Later, when he had felt a sense of fulfillment, he shape-shifted into a regular human he'd once seen in America and, after stealing some currency from a passerby's wallet, stepped into a local cafe. He badly wanted some coffee, something to perk himself up after waking up so early to watch the human.

As he arrived at the front of the line Loki made his order. "Hazelnut Caramel Macchiato. The sixteen ounce with whip." It was a simple order compared to others and he greatly enjoyed this one as it was his current favorite. The immortal was quite glad that some of America's beverages had made it to England or were similar enough that it didn't make a difference in tastes. It made adjusting to a different country easier at least. As he paid for his drink, Loki shifted to the side of the counter and waited for his order to be made, all the while peering up at the bulletin board, reading the current trends, advertisements, and wanted signs. He didn't pay any attention to the rest of the world, not in the least bit bothered when there was literally nothing that could really damage his body. However, his attention was soon broken away from the billboard when someone bumped into him. Yet by the time he'd spun around with an insult on the tip of his tongue, the person was already making apologies.

"Ah, I'm so sorry about that. I guess everyone is trying to get some coffee this early in the morning." The man, a voice Loki definitely recognized, glanced over and stared straight into the god's all too bright green eyes.

Loki froze as did Tom, though he wasn't sure as to why the latter did so. Regardless, Loki snapped out of it and responded. "It's fine." With that, he turned away, not wanting to do anything stupid to give himself away. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and huffed. It was all too clear that Tom had just finished his run–his flustered features spoke volumes–and was getting something before making his trip home. What Loki didn't expect was the fact that Tom would break away from his usual route and head _here_ of all places just for a cup of coffee when the individual usually got tea. Right now, Loki wanted his drink to hurry up so that he could escape.

Tom, however, narrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he peered over the person before him. He reached out and grasped Loki's left arm before the other could move away. "Wait. Do I know you?"

Now that caught Loki's attention and he managed to keep his expression emotionless. "No, I doubt it. I'm from America after all. You couldn't have possibly met me." He was suddenly glad he'd taken this form today.

Tom persisted. "No, I'm certain I've met you before." He squeezed harder on the arm as if making a point when the immortal attempted to shift away. Loki didn't flinch at the show of strength, it wasn't strong. No one around paid them any attention, their confrontation was hidden from all eyes.

It was at that moment that Loki's drink was finished and called out. The God of Mischief grabbed it after yanking his arm roughly out of Tom's grasp, slipping towards the door to escape. "Whatever you'd like to believe." As he stepped out the door, heading into the near empty streets, the familiar arm grabbed him again. He sneered, resisting all subconscious reactions of instinctively lashing out. "What now?"

The mortal bit down on his bottom lip before speaking, "I'm certain I recognize that gaze. You're the one that's been following me around, aren't you?" Loki froze, not expecting the other to figure it out, much less so easily. Tom stepped closer, ignoring his drink when his name was called. His expression was natural, if not holding some suspicion and curiosity, but there was no rage. "So who are you?"

Loki didn't answer and he didn't want to. He huffed and snatched his arm back. "Be quiet, I'm not that interested in you whoever you are," He began to walk away again, intent on ignoring the other. "Now leave me alone. I have better things to do than talk to you." He shoved the other away in order to gain some distance, only for it to fail. Tom could be quite stubborn after all.

"You've been following me for almost two weeks now. Who are you and how did you sneak into all those areas? I know some of them are restricted unless you work for the organization. But I don't recognize you at all. So… who are you?"

Loki clicked his tongue and pulled away, keeping his grip steady on his coffee. "Believe what you wish. I have no interest in talking to you," That was a lie, but Tom didn't need to know that. At the time being, he was only interested in watching, in studying, he didn't want to talk just yet, not when he's still learning about the other and this Midgard. He took a small sip of his drink, savoring the rich flavor despite it leaving a lingering burn on his tongue before slipping away. "I suggest you go back in to get your drink before they decide to throw it away." He stepped towards a corner of a street and proceeded around it, glad that there was no one on the other side, before immediately teleporting away to prevent Tom from following him. The human attempted it though, only a few feet away, and when he turned the corner, he could only blink in confusion at seeing the street empty.

"What? Where?" Tom spun around, his eyebrows narrowed in bewilderment and rushed forward, hoping to spot Loki, but there was no one. "How did he just disappear?"

He spent a few more minutes there before finally giving up, heading back to the coffee shop for his drink. Loki, meanwhile, watched from his position on the streetlamp, invisible to all eyes, and observed as Tom froze once more as his gaze landed on the human. He could see the mortal tensing up and then sigh heavily before moving on, retrieving his beverage. There was no denying it now. The human was aware of his watching gaze, very aware.

"But since he's already aware, there's no point in being discreet anymore." Loki huffed, spinning away on his seat at the head of the post to teleport to another location. It was a park this time, some place where he could relax and enjoy his drink in peace. He would listen to the pigeons (his All-speak allowing him to understand animal languages) and after a while, would close his eyes to the wind, enjoying the soft rustling of it. Nothing beats this after being imprisoned. Nothing. The joggers that went by ignored him, considering he was still in his American form, and he was left in peace, listening to the silence. Freedom, this was what he wanted. He was away from the drama of his family, the headaches, the stares, the accusations, he was away from everything.

It was absolutely the best. As he continued to sip on his drink, he watched for a moment as a couple of squirrels ran by and he chuckled in amusement. Shaking his head at the nonsense the little rodents were squeaking about, he closed his eyes.

* * *

A few days later, he was back to watching Tom in his everyday setting, observing as the actor went through his days like usual. It was amusing to see how the blonde was now noticing his constant presence and Loki couldn't help but begin to tease the other out of amusement. A couple of times he would teleport closer and blow a puff of air either into the mortal's ear or neck. From there, he would take a step back to watch in amusement as the actor would spin around in confusion, trying to figure out what was going on. He even played with some of the devices around him, from Tom's phone to items on set. Watching as the other became frustrated at the annoyance just made him laugh. However, after a few days, Tom would just sigh and move on, not bothering with it anymore. It was harmless stuff, never anything dangerous or major. It was probably the only reason as to why Tom hadn't exploded in rage or fuss about it, though he had gone into a cussing fit one time when looking for his hidden keys.

Soon it became a month and it was then that Tom finally called him out. They both had been in the apartment, the human sitting on his couch to watch some television before heading to bed while Loki was behind him in a chair, watching the screen in amusement. It had been peaceful, the sounds of the show being the only noise in the room. After a few minutes, the blonde had suddenly sighed heavily and muted the show, glaring at the screen in mere annoyance before spinning around to look at his home. There was still no one in the room, at least to his eyes since Loki was currently sitting at his kitchen counter.

"Okay, this has really gone on long enough," Tom grumbled. "I know you're there. Can you please come out?"

Loki tilted his head, knowing very well that the question was being directed towards him. He didn't answer, however.

The human sighed again. "Please come out. I can't stand this anymore. I know you've been following me for a while and I didn't mind at first, but now I'm just curious. It's obvious that you're somehow managing to hide in plain sight without anyone else seeing. I know you're in my place, in this very room, but you're not _here_. I can't see you even though I know about that fact."

Finally Loki responded, settling into the chair beside the human. "And what will you do if you found out?"

Tom froze as his blue eyes went wide as he focused on the voice and words that came from beside him. He snapped his head towards the direction, towards Loki's direction, and stared at the empty chair. "What?" He knew that voice, he knew it all too well. He had heard it from videos, from recordings, from himself as he spoke. It wasn't possible. And then that Loki revealed himself. His invisibility vanished, leaving him in view for the human to see completely. Loki listened to the startled gasp and chuckled, making the other know he was truly here before his very eyes. He was no illusion. "This isn't possible. You can't be real."

"Oh, it's very possible." Loki chuckled once more, standing up from his seat and stepped closer, almost like he was prowling towards his prey. He watched as Tom remained petrified in his seat, unwilling to move anywhere just yet, and could just see the thoughts running through the blonde's head. The immortal gracefully settled beside the human and leaned over, bumping their shoulders together, knowing it would be enough to snap the mortal out of his trance.

"Oh my god, you _are_ real!"

"Of course, Mortal." He rolled his eyes and smirked, enjoying the shocked expression and those wide eyes. Before long, Tom had gained enough courage to carefully reach out to touch Loki's shoulder, wanting to know if it would really be flesh underneath his fingertips. At first, the God of Mischief thought to be offended, hating to be touched without first initiating it, but he decided to allow it to satiate the human's curiosity. It was understandable after all. He could feel the warm fingers squeezing into his cold flesh, more gentle than hard, between the layers of his Asgardian garbs and watched the awe appeared on Tom's expression.

Tom grinned. "This is bloody amazing. How is this even possible?"

"Oh, there are a lot of possibilities in the world of magic," Loki chuckled. "So many that it's sometimes unimaginable. Interesting, isn't it? I'm quite amazed that this world even exists."

"How is this... even possible?" Tom shifted around in his seat so that he could look the immortal in the eye. He simply stared, enjoying the brightness of the green, and smiled as if thinking about something. He knew that Loki's eyes were green, not blue like it had been in the Avengers. He had been correct that Loki must have been under Thanos' control just like what had happened to Barton. "Or that we're actually in front of each other? Shouldn't it be… impossible?"

Loki hummed gently, tilting his head to the side as he stared at the television screen. "I'm not entirely sure about that. Not even I have all the answers in the universe. I have a theory though, that this world was purposefully isolated from contact from other realms." He leaned back against the couch, trying to find a comfortable spot, and folded his arms against his chest. He knew very well that Tom was observing him, able to feel those blue eyes sliding over his body. Loki couldn't help but smirk at that, considering that it was normally him doing the staring.

The blonde shifted a little towards the edge of his seat once more, twisting slightly in his position to look towards those green eyes. He found the color comforting. "I… I don't really know what to say. There are so many questions running through my head that I want to ask, but I… I don't know where to start. I'm still trying to get over the shock of you actually being alive!" He wanted to do so many things, to ask, to see, many of which might get him killed. Actually, now that he thought about it… Tom peered at Loki's expression, expecting rage, anger, and various types of other negative emotions he remembered feeling during the times he acted as Loki to remain there within the persona. But there was nothing. Loki was calm and collected, neutral, though that didn't stop the dangerous aura that leaked out from his form. The smile on the immortal's lips told stories, most not pleasant, and anyone who was smart enough knew the other was dangerous. Still, even with all that, Tom wasn't expecting Loki to act like there was nothing wrong. "You know… I thought you would be angry or upset."

Loki chuckled, he should have expected that. He had seen the movies, he had seen how Tom had played him, and he understood the reasons. "Of course you would. You were correct up to the Avengers movie. The second Thor movie never happened, I escaped in-between. My rage burned out during my imprisonment and now I'm simply… hiding away." His tone drifted off, not wanting to speak any further on this subject. He glanced up at the clock and huffed. "Well, I should be going. I've overstayed my welcome it appears."

He would need to check the surrounding areas to see if there were any vacant apartments, allowing him to stay close by for the night instead of widening his search. He also knew that the blonde would have to get up early tomorrow for work. As much as Loki was curious about the other being, he enjoyed seeing Tom act out his various roles. It was entertaining. And Loki would forever deny that he had purposefully shape-shifted into Tom a few times just to mess with the cast.

Tom, however, didn't partially like the thought of the other leaving so soon, not after just meeting him. He didn't want it to end. He was, after all, meeting one of his favorite characters. "Wait, you're going? So soon?" He glanced up to the clock and grumbled as he noticed the time. He should have known that Loki would memorize his work and sleeping schedule after somewhat stalking him for so long. Grumbling weakly, he peered at the God of Mischief and pouted. "Fine, I know I need to sleep. But you'll appear in the morning, right? I don't want to wake up in the morning thinking that this was all a dream and that you're nothing more than a figment of my imagination."

"Oh? You wish for me to return?" Loki sounded curious, not expecting the mortal to say such a thing. He had expected many others but not that.

"Of course! The character I played is right before my very eyes, alive and breathing!" Tom was excited, unable to hide it. "You are one of my favorites. I loved playing you. You were so interesting to act out each time I got the chance." As his mind caught up with his words, he darkened in color and stuttered slightly, "I-I mean, it was really fun. You were always such a complex being to play."

Loki just smirked, feeling more honored than disturbed. He found it interesting the way Tom would fawn over him much like those fangirls did. "My, my, I'm quite honored. But nonetheless, it's time for bed for you. You have work tomorrow, yes?"

Tom pouted. "Fine, but please be here in the morning."

The immortal chuckled before vanishing, leaving his response up to the other's interpretation.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after

When Tom woke up that following morning, he immediately snapped awake and glanced over towards his alarm clock as it rang that familiar but annoying tune. He grumbled, feeling himself being pulled out of his comfortable slumber, and slowly reached over. The beeping didn't stop until he slammed a hand down on the top button, silencing the device until the next morning, and slowly rose from bed as he pushed his covers back. His mind was groggy, unable to think clearly so early in the morning, and for a moment his eyes once again slipped closed. However, as his feet touched the cold, hardwood floor the memories immediately came rushing back.

"Loki!" Tom stood up, dressed in a loose shirt and briefs, and without delay searched for his pants. Pulling them on, he stepped out through the bedroom door and glanced around, really hoping that everything that had happened yesterday hadn't been a dream. He had seen Loki in the flesh and had felt nothing but happiness at the sight of the individual. He couldn't help it. Anyone would be if they saw the character they portrayed standing before them alive and breathing (despite Loki being somewhat of a villain). As he looked around the entire living room, hoping for some evidence of last night, he grumbled. He didn't see anything, nothing. The living room was cold, devoid of life, and everything looked as it had every day.

"Loki?" He called out again, a little more desperate and hopeful that the God of Mischief would hear him. He wished he had offered Loki something to drink or some food, something that would have left behind some confirmation that there had indeed been two people there. "Loki?" Disappointment slowly seeped into his heart. Perhaps everything had been a dream, a little too much to drink the night before or his exhaustion of his work schedule finally hitting him hard.

" _Yes_?"

"Ack!" Tom jumped from his spot in the hallway, letting out a startled yelp from the sudden voice behind him, and spun around quickly. The moment he caught sight of the person behind him, he grinned, forgetting about the sudden fear he had felt. "Loki!"

The immortal blinked in confusion, staring at Tom suspiciously at the strange excitement the other expressed regarding his presence. His eyebrows were narrowed slightly towards the center of his forehead and he took a step back. "Yes?" He stared defensively, unsure what was going on or what to say. There were plenty of words he could have cursed out when the human woke him up, but the moment he saw Tom's excited expression, they died in his throat. He was dressed in his usual Asgardian garb, though a little ruffled like he had just gotten out of bed. It was kinda… nice to see the other like that, at least, from Tom's point of view. For a moment, Loki appeared normal to the human eye, excluding the leather outfit.

"Did I wake you? Sorry about that." The actor rubbed the back of his head, looking guilty about causing such an interruption.

However, Loki just shook his head, letting things go. Normally, he would be punishing the other person if they dared to do such a thing to him, but he would make the exception for Tom. "It's fine." He shuffled towards the couch in the living room and flopped down, running a hand through his black locks to slick them back. It helped straighten any loose ends, smoothing the disorder it normally held, and with a little bit of magic, kept it like that. He really hadn't expected Tom to call him out this early in the morning, rousing him from a deep slumber from one of the apartments that had been empty of life. This was too early for his own routine regardless of having stalked Tom's.

Meanwhile, Tom simply stare in amusement, wondering briefly if Loki's hair actually felt soft compared to the wigs he had been forced to wear for the part. It had been so stiff from products that sometimes he felt that any wrong move would shatter the strands in half.

The actor was snapped out of his daze when Loki peered over the couch towards him and spoke. "Will you get me something to drink? You did call me out quite suddenly after all." There was a slight edginess to his tone of voice, forcing the human into action.

"O-Oh, right! Sorry!" Tom shuffled towards the kitchen, setting up a pot of water to boil. He wasn't certain if Loki would like tea, but he hoped so. This Loki was harder to react to with how calm he acted at times and that unpredictable nature was stronger than what he was familiar with. With the Loki he normally acted as, he could predict his reactions, his emotions, his responses, and even figure out a way to answer to ease the other. However, this Loki on his couch seemed more like a darker version of the one before Thor's coronation that was mischievous and not in a dictator mood. Still, having a calm Loki was good too. He wouldn't have to worry about the other deciding to destroy everything simply because he could. Well, maybe…

As the water heated up, Tom shuffled through the refrigerator and cabinets before spotting some biscuits at the back. Warming them up in the microwave, he strode back into the living room, hoping that everything was still intact and not destroyed. He hadn't heard any devastation, or noises for that matter, since Loki had arrived, and was afraid that something had happened to his poor apartment. Though, as he stepped into the room, he could hear the sounds of the television and spotted Loki in the same position on the couch, watching the screen with slight interest within those bright green orbs of his. It was the morning news, something he hadn't expected Loki of all people to watch.

"I didn't expect you to watch news," Tom voiced his thoughts and settled beside the raven, listening to the conversation the reporters were bringing up. He recognized some of the content, considering that many of them had happened days ago. There hadn't been anything really note worthy on the television these days, mostly international things and gossip. "Biscuits? Sorry, I don't really have any good food at the moment. I should probably go grocery shopping soon."

Loki glanced at the outstretched plate before reaching over, grabbing one. He nodded as thanks, which was as much as Tom had expected, and began to eat, munching slowly as if content. "It gives me something to do and makes it easier for me to keep up with your society. You humans like to panic at the simplest things… and sometimes the stupidest."

The blonde didn't know exactly how to respond to that. "Well…" He drifted off and eventually took a biscuit to keep his mouth occupied. He wasn't sure _what_ to say honestly. There was plenty of truth on that subject. People do have the tendency to overreact to the smallest things. Tom glanced up at a nearby clock and wiggled his nose. He was supposed to go for his routinely morning jog, but with Loki around, he didn't want to miss such an opportunity to talk. He could miss one day, it wouldn't hurt him to just relax for once. Turning his attention back to the raven, he asked, "So… How long are you planning to stay on Earth?"

The sorcerer glanced up, pausing during mid-bite. His bright green eyes examined the human carefully, watching in amusement as Tom squirmed under his gaze, before finally answering, "A long time. I have no intention of leaving any time soon. This world suits my needs in hiding from Asgard."

"So you're planning on staying for a while? Where at? Do you already have a place?"

"Of course not, fool," Loki huffed. "Do you know how hard it is to go anywhere with your face or dressed as I am? Much less get a place of my own when I have no identity? I could use magic to make myself one, but it's more irritating. Though your technology is nowhere as advanced as the alternate Midgard, it can still be troublesome."

Tom flinched. "Ah, well, that's true," At the glance from the raven, he sighed. He should have figured that out considering his and Loki's fame. It was sometimes hard to go anywhere without getting swarmed by the fans. "So where _have_ you been staying? Hopefully not on the streets."

The raven huffed once more uncaringly, going back to his biscuit and took a few seconds to toss a few insults towards the reporters. He slighted them from the way they spoke to the way they dressed. "Around."

Tom definitely didn't like the sound of that. Eyeing the god, he continued. "Around? What do you mean by that?" So far, he was actually getting answers from the other. The human had expected Loki to be more tight lip about his condition and situation, but he wasn't going to mention anything. This was as good a time as any to get some straight responses without having to worry about weeding out the lies.

"I stay where I want to. People's home. Abandoned buildings. It doesn't matter. They should be glad that I bothered to stay at such a place." At a passing thought, Loki smirked. "Sometimes, those human homes are so terribly messy that I just want to clean it up for them. It's insulting, making a prince clean. Though seeing their expressions when they return is quite comical. You humans have some of the most perplexing faces I've ever seen."

Tom almost wanted to sigh. He should have expected such a thing with the other. Still, he had a more pressing matter to talk about. "Wait, so you break into people's homes to sleep?"

Loki shrugged his shoulders with a smirk. "Why not? They aren't home. I might as well use their facilities in the meantime. I see no harm in doing such a thing and those alarms you humans have are pathetic." He returned his gaze to the screen. "I've seen better ones on the alternate Midgard, but they're, of course, no match for my powers."

"Well, they aren't designed to go against magic." This time, Tom sighed. No locked door or alarm system would be able to stop the Norse God, but he did get why Loki had to resort to such things. It wasn't a pleasant note, but he got it. As the kettle went off, he got up to head back to the kitchen, wanting to retrieve the tea in hopes of keeping the conversation going. It also gave him some time to think. It was a little harder to talk to the other than what he originally believed, but at least he wasn't worried about Loki suddenly going into a fit of rage at every little thing.

Pulling out two cups and saucers, he set the leaves within each and watched as the clear liquid colored a pale green. Soon, he was adding milk and sugar to them both, having a feeling that the immortal would like something sweet instead of bitter and anyway, he was going to need the energy with the rate this conversation was going. Lifting the two saucers up, he started to head back to the living room when he paused. Down the hallway towards his own bedroom was a spare that was normally used for his family whenever they visited or friends when they had a little too much to drink to drive back or call a cab.

Nodding to himself as the idea settled into his mind, he went back to the living room. Loki was still watching the news, but was now making snarky comments towards the interviewees, calling them various creative names.

"Here, have some tea." Tom placed his own onto the table in front of the couch and held Loki's out before him.

The raven stared at the drink for a moment, eyeing it carefully, before taking it. "You've been most gracious," He held the saucer in his left and raised the cup with his right up to his lips, taking a small sip to taste. Loki was copying the usual British style of drinking tea except he wasn't holding his pinky up. He paused, licking his lips as if testing before taking another. Tom smiled, that was an act of approval in Loki's own way. "It's satisfying."

"Thanks." As Tom reached for his own, unable to hide his smile at the comment, he took a sip. It was hot, but a few blows of air made the top layer a little cooler to his tongue. There was a silence between the two males as the reporter went on in the background. "So…" He started, placing the cup back onto the saucer. "How did… all this happen?"

Loki huffed, almost looking like he was about to roll his eyes. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're asking."

"I mean, why and how are you actually here? I'm still trying to get over the shock that you're actually alive."

"Yes, because you humans are quick to disbelieve."

Tom made a face to that.

"Well, where to start," Loki folded his arms after placing the saucer down onto the table before him. "To make this quick, I escaped from Asgard because they seemed to forget that I was the one that helped with the prisons and found a rip through the dimensions where this alternate Midgard was located. Believing that it was the best place to hide, I jumped in, but not before closing the rip behind me."

The mortal nodded as he listened to Loki's story. "So then how long have you been here?"

"About three months, give or take." Loki grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels, tired of watching the news already. It wasn't as if there was anything interesting anyway and they kept repeating the same thing over and over. He eventually stumbled across some hit show, Doctor Who, and paused there to watch, putting down the remote. Tom paid attention, recognizing some of the cast members.

"Will people follow you?" Tom queried, needing to get this confirmation. He didn't exactly like the thought of being attacked, not at his place, but he also didn't want Loki to be taken away so soon either.

"Maybe, but it'll take them a while. This alternate Midgard was sealed away and I just resealed it to prevent others from following me through. Since I've never heard of it no one else should be aware of its existence. This means that even if I get found out, there's no way to cross over without alerting me or harming this realm, which I doubt Thor would like to do. This could easily give me a few years before someone manages to figure something out."

"So… we're safe for right now?"

Loki huffed again, this time rolling his eyes. "Yes, we're fine." They went back to watching television, sipping quietly on their drinks. The biscuits were shortly gone, the empty platter left on the table. Neither of them spoke, simply sitting quietly as they watched the show. The episode they were currently watching finished up and then another began, no one moving from their position. It was like they were comfortable in each other's presence and that any shift on either side could ruin the moment. Still, someone had to speak and it wasn't going to be Loki, Tom knew that for certain. The human had a strong guess that Loki could go for days without saying a single word, unlike him who constantly needed contact so that he wouldn't feel so lonely. It was a bad habit and sometimes the reason why he was so well liked among his friends and coworkers.

Eventually, Tom spoke up, "Any plans now?" The mortal glanced over towards the once homicidal god and continued. "I mean, for today." At Loki's continued curious glance, the human expanded. "I want to get to know you more and if you don't have anything for today, we can go out for lunch or something."

The raven continued to stare, his teacup already gone from his hands once emptied of its contents. He hummed gently to himself, enjoying the nervous look the other was giving him the longer he kept the pause. Eventually, he knew he would have to answer and honestly, he had nothing to do. It seemed Tom was just as curious about his counterpart as he was. "I have nothing to do, but you have work today, yes?"

The mortal just shrugged his shoulders and leaned towards the edge of his couch. "I can call in. It's not as if I have anything important today. It's been somewhat relaxed these days until I get a new part. Now that my big break with Thor is over, things might start to slow down once more. It's a shame actually."

"Did you enjoy the fame?" Loki chuckled, well aware that Tom had only gotten himself well-known internationally through him. He had gone to see a few other movies Tom had participated in and though they were spectacular, it hadn't drawn in the audience like his part for Thor and the Avengers. The right movie and the right role was the one that accurately brought out his true abilities for the world to see. Sometimes, it was all about chance.

Shrugging his shoulders again, Tom answered. "It has its good days and its bad, but I don't regret anything. Playing as you had been a blessing, a boost in my career I've been waiting for," The human pulled his tea away from his lips, finding it too cold for his tastes, and placed it down onto the counter. He hadn't realized he had been holding onto it for more than an hour already. His eyes glanced up at the clock, only finding a few hours had passed. If he called in now, he would be late, but he didn't think anyone would mind. In the meantime, they could head out for lunch, it'd be early, but it wasn't like either of them had a decent breakfast. He glanced back towards the raven. "I really don't regret getting the chance to play as you." Loki snapped his head away, turning to stare at the television, and Tom could only smile. "Now, it's a bit early, but do you want to head out for lunch? I know a good place that's nearby."

"You paying?" Loki chuckled, smirking as his green eyes glanced towards the individual, the television screen reflecting off the edges of his pupils.

"Of course."

"Then, yes."

Tom could only sigh in response. He should have expected that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure if Doctor Who shows that early in the morning, but in America it sometimes is played all day. Sorry it was mostly talk, but it kinda needed to get out of the way before I could go anywhere.
> 
> I also have another Frostpudding story in the making, this one completely filled with smut. There's like one for each chapter almost.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting to know each other

Tom had originally suspected that having lunch with Loki could possibly end horribly, knowing the raven's tendencies for mischief and destruction. However, he was actually quite well behaved, sitting quietly at the other side of the table, and Tom only knew that the reason as to why was himself. Loki's attention was completely focused on him, listening to every word he made to every shift of movement. It was unsettling, but Tom would rather have this than someone else getting hurt because Loki got distracted.

The flow of conversation was awkward at best seeing as there were certain topics that needed to be avoided at all costs. Tom was familiar with them and tried to edge around them, skirting across the issues. Loki was grateful at the obvious changing of subjects whenever he was starting to get a little uncomfortable and continued to smirk, finding the human most interesting. In the end, they spent almost the whole day together simply wandering about London, Tom showing the raven certain parts of the city or even some of his favorite restaurants. Of course, Loki had to use a spell to keep people from recognizing either of them, it was a small price of energy if it meant he could hang around the blonde with no issues.

They spoke about various subject matters ranging from what they did in their spare time to what their favorite hobbies was. Tom went on about his family, speaking about his sisters and parents. Obviously, Loki didn't speak much about his own, offering a little about the past on things had been before the whole incident or what he was most comfortable with. The raven did offer some details on the Nine Realms, things he was certain the human had never heard of due to the lack of information across the world when he had researched about himself. When they found themselves unable to speak anymore, they simply remained quiet, enjoying each other's presence. Tom didn't mind paying for his companion, getting some coffee from a café and then some ice-cream later in the evening. He was a little amazed that no one had bothered him, much less the paparazzi, but he had to guess that it was Loki's magic at work.

It was later in the evening when they had ordered some to-go from a Chinese restaurant and had settled into Tom's kitchen with a movie playing in the living room that the human finally brought up something. He had been meaning to ask the other about it, but had first wanted Loki to get used to his presence, not wanting to force the raven into anything. He had a feeling that with him, he needed to take things slow in order for Loki to agree readily.

"Hey, Loki," Tom glanced over towards the god, holding the takeout box of Chinese food in his left hand with chopsticks in the other. There wasn't any distaste on the male's face, notifying him that Loki was enjoying his food to an extent. He had been wary of what to order, not entirely sure about Loki's preferences, but the raven had chosen his own just fine, distinguishing what he enjoyed the most by the details on the menu. The trickster glanced up at the other in question with the end of the chopsticks resting on his lip, and was just pulling them away when Tom responded. "I was thinking. Well, if you have nowhere to stay, you're welcome to use my guestroom in the meantime."

Loki froze, the chopsticks digging into the container as his vivid green eyes examined the human before him. He sat a few seconds in silence as he took in the offer, keeping still before finally pulling away from his food. There was a sharp tap as the bottom of the container hit the surface of the table and he turned towards the human with his arms folded on top of the table. His green eyes were gazing at Tom's blue ones, watching for any disturbances or were just amused by how he was scaring the other by the unsettling stare. "You would let someone like me in? Someone that could easily kill you? Could bring you nothing but trouble?"

The actor blinked and bluntly answered, "Yes, of course."

"Then perhaps you have a few loose ends yourself… and perhaps are an idiot."

The human chuckled at that, it was probably true in a way. "Well, I have a spare bedroom that's currently not being used. I mean, I don't want you needing to break into houses just to find a place to sleep and I think that if you're going to stay here on Earth for a while, it would be good idea to have a more stable place to stay." Tom muttered, hoping the other would agree. He didn't want Loki to resort to such things, not when he could do something about it. "Plus, here you can sleep with ease without worrying about being interrupted or brooding over your source of food." Giving a warm smile, he continued to hope, waiting for Loki's response.

"Oh?" The smirk on the trickster's expression told stories that Tom wasn't entirely sure he wanted to hear. "You really want _me_ to stay?"

"Well, yes. I thought that was obvious."

"Hmm," Loki looked like a cat that had just been given some cream and chuckled. "You appear most generous. No doubt refusing your offer would make me a fool. So yes, I shall take the room."

Tom brightened up, almost dropping his chopsticks in his excitement. "Great! Then maybe after we finish eating, I can show you around my place."

"I would like that."

* * *

Later that evening, Loki curled up in his new found blankets, finding them absolutely blissful compared to the empty air that he sometimes suffered. Even when he managed to break into a house, he was always cautious with the sheets, not entirely sure what type of filth the humans had put on them before he laid down. Also, nothing beat being able to relax and know that he wouldn't have to be on full alert for intruders or the family that would be coming home shortly. This would be his place, a place he could call his own in the meantime and return to after a long day of traveling. It was also useful to have a more stable place to keep some of his items he had been collecting during his stay on Midgard considering the interesting inventions the mortals tended to create.

Burying his face into the soft pillow, he sighed in contentment and wrapped himself further up in the warm blankets with a small smile resting on his lips. Everything was wonderful and he could smell the faintness of fabric softener that had been used when in the dryer. These sheets were definitely all clean, something he favored greatly. No doubt Tom was being an excellent host to a prince, well most likely former-prince of Asgard. Pushing those thoughts out of his head, Loki listened to the silence of the room and then huffed gently to himself. If he really pushed his senses, he would be able to hear the faint sounds of the cars roaring down on the street and the barking of the dogs in the distance. The whistling of the wind as it struck against hard surfaces that got in its way, such as the window, was more comforting than annoying. It was a familiar sound he regularly heard even in Asgard and it happened to calm his nerves more than make it worse. So far, compared to his previous living conditions, this was perfect.

Opening his eyes for a moment, he glanced around the bedroom and found the darkness welcoming. The curtains were drawn back to keep the outside lights of the city from getting in, but it was just enough that Loki could make out everything in the room. It was plainly decorated, only containing the basics that were essential for a bedroom and that was fine with him, he could work on that tomorrow after a good night's rest. The bathroom was connected to the room and inside contained both a toilet and shower. They were fitting to his needs. The bathroom also contained another door that went out to the living room and though he hadn't been comfortable with the fact that someone else could easily stumble into his personal items (Tom having his own private one), he knew it wouldn't matter much. It was just going to be him and Tom after all and if someone came in, a little magic would hide them away from peeping eyes.

Actually, now that Loki thought about it, Tom lived a rather simple lifestyle despite all the fame he had received from his movies. He didn't live in a mansion or spend extravagant amounts of money on cars, decorations, or even on the apartment itself. It was almost the opposite of what he had expected Tom to originally be. Still, Loki found that more of a good thing and for the first time since the destruction of Thor's coronation, he felt at peace.

* * *

The next morning had been a little strange considering Loki wasn't used to being around other people and Tom wasn't used to having a Norse God he acted as around him. In the end, they made do. Tom woke up at his regular hours to head out for his morning jog, having missed it yesterday, and come back to begin making breakfast for the two of them. The human couldn't help but wonder if he should head over and wake Loki up, finding the raven still fast asleep in the bedroom when he had peeked inside as he went for a shower. However, Tom just shrugged his shoulders and allowed the other to sleep, knowing Loki probably needed all the rest he could get.

Still, he needed to head out for work soon and he didn't want to leave Loki on his own without giving at least a warning. Tom slipped towards the bedroom door after getting dressed for the day and knocked gently on the wooden frame. "Loki?"

He heard some shuffling on the other side, knowing that Loki was probably buried underneath the blankets. Tom smiled at the thought and knocked again. "Loki, I'm going to open the door." Reaching out, he twisted the knob and pushed the frame open. His blue eyes peered inside, noticing that the room was somewhat dark with the curtains drawn, and glanced towards the individual on the bed. The actor chuckled, shaking his head. He had a feeling that Loki was more of a late riser than early bird like him. "Hey, Loki, I'm heading out, alright? I have some work to do, but I'll be back home in the evening. I left some money on the table for you to use and some breakfast, too, which you'll probably just need to heat up in the microwave. Oh, and don't worry about dinner, I'll pick up something for us both on the way home or maybe cook, I haven't decided yet."

Loki shifted underneath the sheets once more and finally sat up to gaze at his companion. He stretched in place, the sheets bundling up around his waist, and he raised a hand up to run it through the wavy locks that had formed overnight. It wasn't straight like Tom was used to seeing, but more of that look he had once worn when acting out the prison scene in 'Thor 2'. The temptation to touch was growing stronger and Tom physically had to resist. "That's fine with me." His green eyes peered up the human and he rolled them, waving his hand. "Now go before you're late, fool."

Tom chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, I'm the fool," He leaned against the frame of the door and folded his arms against his chest, drinking in the sight before him. He was wearing some designer clothes that made him stand out among the crowd, but they were plain in style. "Now, are you going to be okay by yourself around here?"

Loki raised an eyebrow at the human, giving a small snort.

Tom immediately took the hint. "Yes, I know who I'm talking to, but I just wanted to ask."

With that, the raven chuckled and shook his head. "Of course I'll be fine. I've been fine on my own long before you offered housing." The raven huffed and leaned back down against the bed, not yet wanting to leave the comfort of it. This was the perfect time as any to get some adequate sleep he had been missing for more than a year. "I'm perfectly capable of finding something to do. I'll also need to fix up this room more to my liking."

"Well, if you say so," The human pulled away, gripping the door to close it. "Then I'll see you later tonight."

"Yes, yes, now leave already. I will not be the reason as to why you're late."

Tom could only shake his head in amusement, closing the door.

* * *

Loki made quick work of his bedroom when he woke up a few hours later, feeling much more rested than originally. Apparently, the bed had been more comfortable than he'd initially believed, leaving him unwilling to leave the confines of it just yet. It was nowhere near the quality of his own bed back in Asgard, but this was wonderful enough on its own. At least here, he didn't have some guard or irritating brother trying to wake him up to coax him out for breakfast or because he had been called in for something. Loki took his time getting up, sitting on the edge of the bed as he gave himself some time to adjust to the change of position before he began to move. With a flick of his fingers, the curtains were dragged open slowly and the bed was made behind him.

The raven stretched as he stood, dressed in a loose pair of pants and a t-shirt, both given to him by Tom in order to sleep easier through the night. Apparently, the human disapproved of him sleeping in his leather garments the moment Loki attempted it, finding them uncomfortable.

'Ah, that's right. Thomas left something for me to eat.' Loki chuckled, finding it somewhat nice to have food already there ready for him compared to having to search it out. It was a difference that was welcoming with his stay at Tom's place. He quickly found the covered plate, heated it up with some magic instead of the microwave (much faster) and began to eat. It was a simple meal, some eggs and ham mixed in, nothing fancy. Soon after he'd finished, Loki set about taking a shower, wanting to clean himself off before getting to work on his new bedroom. As much as he was pleased with his room, he needed a few items to make it more… compatible with his standards.

The shower itself felt wonderful against his skin, making sure to make himself as squeaky clean as possible. It had been a while since he'd been able to have something like this considering he was constantly on the move. The mechanics weren't too hard to figure out and much simpler than back at Asgard in a way considering how some of the construction of the pipe linings worked out. Being able to wash his hair and body out from the collection of dirt and grime felt wonderful against his skin and the vanilla-scented shampoo and conditioners were almost heavenly. Loki chuckled to himself, he could really get used to Midgard's ways.

After the shower, he went to the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his shoulder and dressed only in his pants. He glanced around the room curiously, finding what he could add and what he couldn't. The closet wasn't large, but he didn't really mind that little fact, snapping his fingers to get rid of some of the items and placed them neatly into the storage that Tom had showed him earlier. Loki made a small note to organize it later for future reference since he was certain he would be adding more to it. Back to the bedroom, he used some magic to shift the drawer to one side, making it smaller width-wise and added more to its height. With a wave of his fingers, a large bookcase appeared in another end of the room, attaching itself to the wall, and was left barren for the time being. The bed and nightstand were shifted against the wall, leaving an open center of the room where Loki had a dark green circular rug appear. The curtains morphed into something fuller and darker in color, a forest green. He left the color of the walls alone, but did change the color of the blankets and pillowcases to a light green to compliment the room. Within an hour, Loki had transformed the bedroom into something he would enjoy more, a complete one-eighty of what it had been before.

For the rest of the time, Loki wandered about the rest of the apartment, curious about the place. He hadn't really gotten the chance the night before to really explore since he had been more exhausted and with Tom not home, no one was around to stop him. The raven smirked as he entered the study room, nosing into the various drawers, but didn't find anything of interest. It hadn't really looked like it had been used in a long time considering Loki found some dust layering at the tops of the counters. The rest of the rooms he was already familiar with and turned his attention towards Tom's bedroom. The moment he stepped in, Loki was drawn to the large bookshelf the human had, his curious nature getting the better of him as he plucked the first book and began to read. Before he knew it, he was drawn into the story and completely forgot about time as he was drifted away.

A few hours later, Tom entered the apartment, calling out to Loki that he was back. However, all he received was silence. "Loki?" He tried again in hopes of getting a response, but received nothing. Placing his keys down at the stand near the door and hanging up his jacket, he stepped towards the living room. He saw no signs of the Norse God and wandered a bit more where he could see a clear view into the kitchen and dining area. Still, no sign. "Loki? Are you here?"

It was only then that he heard something move towards the back of the complex. He blinked, knowing that location was his bedroom. 'Did Loki find my books?' Stepping forward, he pushed open his bedroom door and glanced into the room before breaking out into a smile. There leaning against his bed was none other than Loki, his eyes stuck on some page of a book. Surrounding him were two others, which Tom suspected to have been finished. Tom leaned against the door frame, simply watching Loki as he flipped the pages one after another, his eyes dragging across the words with ease.

"I see you found my collection." Tom called out, getting Loki's attention instantly.

The raven snapped his head up towards his companion, blinked for a few moments before nodding his head. "Yes, you have such interesting stories here. You humans are at least creative in what you lack."

The actor stepped forward, leaning down to pick up the two books on the floor, and took in the titles. "I take it that Asgard doesn't have works like these?"

"What do you think? All Asgard has to offer is war stories. There's nothing creative about it at all."

Tom snorted and stood up, placing the two books back on the shelf. "Well, I'll make dinner in the meantime and call you when it's done. You're welcome to raid my books whenever you like. Just let me know when you finish them all so that I can probably set you up with a library card or something."

Loki nodded to that before driving back into the world the book held, a small tug of a smile resting on his lips. Tom shook his head, leaving out the door towards the kitchen.

* * *

The next few weeks, they fell into a simple routine. Tom would get up early in the morning to continue his morning jog before returning to take a shower and get dressed for the day. From there, he would make breakfast for himself and his new found roommate. Sometimes, he would return from his run with two cups of coffee or tea as a treat and other times a full breakfast so that he wouldn't have to clean any dishes (Loki took care of those as an agreement, which wasn't hard considering he used magic). Loki tended to wake up later in the morning, developing a habit of staying up late, and if Tom didn't call out for him to get up, he just might not stir until lunch.

On the days Loki managed to get up early, it would be thirty minutes before Tom would leave for work, rising mainly because of the noise the blonde would purposefully create. The raven would come trudging out sleepily, his hair slightly tangled from the bed, and dressed in a loose green shirt and black pants. He would give a small mutter of 'good morning' before settling onto the kitchen counter where a cup of coffee or tea awaited him to devour. Tom would shake his head at the lack of response with a smile before giving his own greeting, much brighter than Loki's.

While Tom was gone during the day, Loki took that time to continue exploring the rest of England, making sure to keep himself discreet. He was back to his old habits of stealing money for food despite Tom keeping some wads of cash around for his use. If Tom was back by lunch time from getting an early release from work, Loki didn't mind bringing something back to share. It wasn't his money after all and though Tom would give him a disapproving look, knowing how the food came to be considering the wad was untouched, would still take the offered food to eat. Dinner was normally spent together, Tom cooking something simple for the both of them unless he picked something up along the way home from work.

It was during the days Tom was off that the routine changed. Tom made sure to take Loki shopping for items he might need, either clothes or even groceries. It didn't matter much on the price tag since the moment he saw the raven smiling at the interesting objects he found made Tom a little happy at the fact that he had been the one to cause it. They would either head out for lunch or dinner in a restaurant, Loki using some of his magic to keep them hidden from people's eyes. Tom didn't mind that, it was easier to just wander around town freely than to be attacked by his fans. If anything, having a roommate, even if it was the God of Mischief, wasn't as bad as he had originally expected. Tom actually found it quite… welcoming. It was nice to return home and have someone already there to greet him.

Loki, from his point of view, found these past few weeks comfortable and he really did enjoy the fact that he had a place to call his own. Within a few days after arriving, he didn't stop his decoration of his new bedroom by changing the blankets that felt soft to touch and mattress with one that had been offered on television. Of course, these hadn't been bought, but taken directly out of the store. This little tidbit Tom didn't need to know and Loki never told him, though the human had a strong suspicion towards the suddenly appearing items. Meanwhile, various little knickknacks began to filter in and this time Tom took the time to help out in purchasing and choosing said items, explaining the purposes to the immortal. If anything, they were at peace and before long a month had passed.

Sadly, that didn't stop the nightmares that began to haunt Loki's mind. His past actions were finally beginning to catch up with him now that he was at peace.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The nightmares begin

Tom hadn't detected it at first since it only occurred once a week but he began to notice that Loki would sometimes be awake before he got up for the day. It was odd considering how much the God loved to sleep in but he never thought much on it, just like the time he had shuffled into the connected living room and kitchen to see the raven sitting on a couch, watching the telly. Tom hadn't minded, believing the raven had wanted to catch something that only showed in the morning, and began his regular routines: going out for a jog, taking a shower, and making breakfast. Loki had simply remained on the couch during that entire time, continuing to watch the television in silence.

Sometimes, the immortal would be on his laptop, watching some videos online or reading up on something Tom couldn't quite make out. Other times, Loki would be playing some sort of gaming device, completely engrossed with the storyline. He didn't understand why the raven would be up so early but slowly, he began to connect the pieces. One morning, he finally got his answer.

"Ah, good morning." Tom welcomed as he spotted Loki on the couch, watching what appeared to be the morning news. He took a moment to watch as well, interested more in the weather for the day. Loki glanced back, humming gently in content before nodding in return.

"Morning." The god twisted back to the front, leaning against the couch happily in comfort.

"You're up early today." The actor glanced at the time, ready to head out for his run. He raised an eyebrow in confusion; the other would generally still be asleep even after Tom had come back from his morning run. "Something wrong?"

Loki huffed, "Couldn't sleep." He flipped through the channels in boredom, not really finding anything that was worth his attention. Eventually, he got stuck on a random channel, finding the movie on screen more interesting than the rest of the shows.

Tom slipped closer, pulling a light jacket over his form. It was supposed to be cold this morning and he wanted something a little extra just in case. He eyed the raven curiously. "Want to talk about it?"

"No."

It was an immediate response, one that obviously stated: 'don't go any further into it.' Tom sighed, going along with the order. "Are you hungry then?" He knew better than to inquire about what was happening within Loki's head, especially when it might lead into sensitive subjects. It was best to diffuse the situation before something occurred. An angry Loki was not one he wanted to meet. "I can get something for us on the way back. Anything in particular you want?"

"Oh? You're offering?" The immortal chuckled, his full attention on the blond male. "Well, I could never deny good food. I trust your preferences in deciding what I'd like."

At those words, Tom raised an eyebrow. Trust… Loki had said he trusted him. It wasn't much on the subject matter but he knew that trust itself was a delicate and difficult thing with the raven. He stepped closer in question, wondering for a moment if he had really heard correctly, and wished that the other had repeated the response. If anything, Loki didn't seem to notice his slip and if he did he merely remained silent with an impassive expression that successfully hid all his emotions. Unable to hide his smile, Tom slipped out of the apartment, thinking of what his newfound companion would enjoy that morning.

* * *

The memory of Loki being up early was completely forgotten when he came home to see the entire building in a complete uproar. Apparently, the raven had gotten bored enough that he had magically set off all the alarm clocks and fire alarms in the building. It was madness in the way the occupants of the apartment complex were running around frantically. Tom could only sigh. At least it was nothing dangerous.

That, and there was no way it could be connected back to him for that matter. He liked living in his apartment, thank you very much.

* * *

The next time such a thing happened, Tom woke up to find Loki at the kitchen counter with some breakfast he had bought from a nearby café. The raven had Tom's laptop out and was messing around with the internet, heading towards some of the more popular sites like Twitter and Tumblr. Tom could tell that Loki was messing around with his accounts and making new ones to further that purpose out of amusement. The human shook his head, already imagining the upcoming headache for his manager once he learned of the chaos.

Still, there was the issue of the food before him. "What's this?" He could see a breakfast sandwich, some roasted coffee that smelled absolutely delightful, and some ice-cold orange juice in a lidded cup. A few little packets of sugar and creamers were stacked neatly in the center, the empty ones already thrown into the trash can. By the looks of it, the raven had overly sweetened his coffee.

Loki held his half-full cup in one hand, sipping on it slowly, before refocusing on the keyboard with both hands. He had already finished with his food and was simply browsing the net for entertainment. He glanced up momentarily with an eyebrow raised as if asking 'isn't it obvious?' before peering back down.

It was then that things seemed to click into place. Tom slipped around the counter and sat beside the raven with a gentle smile. "Did you, by any chance, have another nightmare? Is that why you're up this early?"

Loki's fingers froze over the keyboard before continuing once more like nothing had happened. He didn't reply, letting Tom know that it was indeed true and it was clear that he, once again, didn't want to go any further into the subject. The clicking of the keyboard was the only sound in the room.

"I get it but just know that I'm here for you, alright?" Reaching over, he carefully rubbed Loki on the shoulder before reaching out pull his food closer towards himself. "If you need anything, let me know. Oh, and thanks for the food."

The immortal didn't reply but did hum gently to himself in approval, letting Tom know he had been heard.

* * *

The blond sighed heavily as he stared outside the window towards the streets down below and then grumbled soon afterwards. It was chaos out there, complete and utter chaos. All the traffic lights were out and the backed up lines of cars on the road was unbelievable, it was an absolute standstill for all the vehicles out there. There was no way he was going to be able to get to work on time in such a mess like that and with what the news was saying, even the tram system was down. It wasn't even rush hour either! The streets were flooded with people, car horns were sounding, and he could hear yelling from those trapped. Tom sighed again, just as heavily, as he glanced back towards his companion. "Loki… Really?"

The raven smirked, his vivid green eyes peering over the other intently. It was clear that Tom was ready to head out for the day and was going to be late because of the impromptu traffic jam. He gave a faux innocent look. "What?"

The mortal didn't even bother to reply to that, shaking his head while rolling his eyes, and grabbed his jacket, knowing it was going to be miserable to get to work today. He had better get started if he wanted to attempt to get there on time, though he doubted that would even be possible. However, as he went to unlock the front door, Loki began to move by gracefully sliding off the stool. The raven didn't say anything and simply smirked before grabbing hold of Tom's arm. Within seconds, the human's vision of the surrounding world began to blur out of shape and then refocus a few seconds later. He blinked curiously, entirely confused about the setting as it appeared to be an alleyway, and glanced around to figure out what had exactly happened. Tom was no longer in his apartment but… outside his work site? Did he just get teleported?

The blond huffed, smiling to himself, and headed off towards work. Apparently, he was going to be early today compared to everyone else. "Sometimes, I really love your magic, Loki."

* * *

One day, one month since he first found out about Loki's nightmares, Tom found himself twitching during his sleep in the middle of the night, finding something startling him awake. It felt like more like a nudge against him, against his mind, and it was keeping him from falling back asleep. For a moment, he attempted to ignore it, go back to sleep, since it was early in the morning, too early actually from the feel of the room and the lack of noise outside. Still, he needed to check what time it was and shuffled slightly in bed to roll underneath the covers. Opening his eyes, he glanced at his alarm clock located on the bedside table and grumbled colorfully at the sight of the time glowing in bright red letters. It was two in the morning, he still had about four more hours to sleep before he needed to rise and start the day. It was way too early for any trouble.

Closing his eyes, he shuffled back into his bed and curled up in his warm blankets in an effort to drift back into a pleasant slumber. He pulled everything around him, bringing the blankets closer to his face as he attempted to encase his body. However, as time passed, he found himself being nudged constantly in annoyance by some unknown sensation. It wasn't a physical nudge, more mental and it kept bothering him like something was poking his mind. Grumbling once more, this time in defeat, he kicked off the covers that protected his body from the coolness of the room and sat up miserably. He wasn't entirely keen on moving away from his comfort but he knew that if he didn't find out the cause of this frustration, he would never head back to sleep.

Luckily for him, there was only one person he could think of that could cause such a thing: Loki.

Stretching, Tom slipped his feet off the side of the bed and stood up to make his way out of the bedroom. Everything was quiet as the world was still asleep but as he listened closely towards the window, he could hear the faint droplets of rain hitting against the glass. It was light, nothing that would bother him and instead would help lull him to sleep by its constant pattern. As he stepped closer to Loki's room, he picked up the sounds of soft muttering of words from behind the door. Tom stopped, freezing to his spot to listen carefully and leaned in against the frame. He was trying to figure out what Loki was saying (he knew that voice anywhere) but it wasn't in English or in any language he recognized through his travels around the world. Raising an eyebrow at the questionable language, he stepped closer and opened the bedroom door carefully, trying to prevent any sounds from startling the raven within. He was already familiar with Loki's powers thanks to the movies and the others near-constant use of them during his stay. Tom wasn't exactly keen on those powers being turned against him by mistake.

Peeking in cautiously, he spotted the said-being curled up in the blankets and even in the darkness of the room, he could hear the muttering of those strange words and see the moving of those red lips. The words were clearer now that he was inside and as he crept closer, Tom peered down at the raven curiously.

"Loki?" He whispered, settling onto the side of the bed and observed the immortal carefully without making another sound. Loki's face was clenched up in some sort of nightmare, struggling with some hidden enemy within his own mind, and his fingers were tightly gripping the pillow enough that the human was afraid it might tear at the force. Tom's heart just clenched at the thought of Loki being on his own like this. He was familiar with the raven's horrid past and he wasn't entirely surprised that this would happen, though he had expected it sooner. Of course, Tom never thought that he'd find out about Loki's dreams like this considering how strong the other envisioned himself to be.

'Well, that definitely explains the early morning awakening…' Tom sighed quietly and watched as Loki's fingers shifted upward to clench the pillow and let out another mutter of frightened whispers. Leaning over, Tom carefully reached out and began running his fingers through the immortal's soft hair, hoping that this would help calm the raven down. Tom listened as Loki's breathing hitched at his gentle touches as if momentarily shocked but the human persisted in his movements, knowing that this would work. Not only that but he was finally getting the chance to touch that hair, finding it incredibly silky and soft like the edges of a feather. The strands just flowed in-between his fingers like water. It was nothing like those wigs he had been forced to wear for the role. Tom continued on and used some pressure to massage the other's scalp as he played with his hair. Though Loki would never admit, he terribly enjoyed it whenever someone played with his hair and slowly began to relax, his fingers loosening up on the pillow as evidence. The jerky movements began to slow down, relaxing into the touches, and soon the whispering stopped with Loki letting out a sigh of content.

Slowly, Tom's fingers drifted downward towards his back and rubbed gently into the spine. His other hand was pulling the blankets back, knowing better than to leave Loki alone right now after what had happened. He had a strong gut feeling that the situation would just resume the moment he left, resulting in a lack of sleep both for him and the raven. So if he stayed, even if that meant sharing a bed, he was more likely to get some rest before work later that day.

"What are you doing?"

Tom froze, having just made enough room for him to slip in. His grayish-blue eyes snapped over towards the green ones, a small ounce of fear drifting through his body. "I'm joining you in bed." His voice quivered for a moment, afraid that Loki might react badly to his suggestion, and continued. "You were having a nightmare and I didn't want to leave you alone in it if it came back."

Loki didn't respond, he didn't trust himself to do so correctly. Still, he didn't refuse the advancement as Tom shuffled underneath his covers and shifted close enough that they were touching. Those fingers were still on his back, rubbing circles along his spine, and Loki felt his eyes closing up at the touch. It was nice but he was never going to admit that. It had been a long time since he had even been this close to anyone and he... liked it.

Tom continued to watch the other carefully, trending into this battle with care. Any small shift could set the other off and he continued the rubbing, knowing that this was helping, as depicted by the evidence before him. He carefully went back up to the hair and smiled as Loki shifted closer to him in content. The blankets were nestled over their bodies, curving around their forms. "Feel a little better?"

Loki huffed, not wanting to answer and kept his eyes closed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" It was the same question he had asked a couple times before, hoping to get a different response.

"No and stop asking about it."

Tom sighed but didn't push on the subject. It was the same as usual. "Fine, fine. Just know that I'm here for you. Again." Closing his eyes, he shuffled his head onto the now shared pillow, trying to continue his movements. Slowly, he felt himself drifting off and it was easy to tell that Loki was relaxing into his grasp, his breathing easing up. Before long, they both stumbled into a deep sleep, contented with each other's presence and this time there was no nightmare to wake Loki up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This hasn't been beta'd. I actually lost my beta so if there's any issues, let me know

Dawn came faster than Loki thought and he found himself waking up as the morning sun just began to rise with its bright rays slipping through the edges of his curtains. He could hear the faint sound of an alarm going off in the distance, knowing that it belonged to Tom by the familiar buzzing ring. However, as minutes passes, he realized that it wasn't getting turned off. It slowly pulled him away from his present comfort of sleep, his mind focusing on the ringing as it was the only sound in the apartment. Loki grumbled something in Norse, burying his face further into his pillow in an attempt to mute the annoyance. He refused to be pulled out of a blissful rest, feeling incredibly warm and content with where he was currently at. He hadn't felt like this for a long time and ever since those nightmares had begun... Loki huffed irately. He just had to remind himself about those. Seeing as sleep was going to delude him now, he peeked his eyes momentarily to peer around the room in a drowsy daze.

He froze however, when all he saw was a chest, a chest that belonged to a certain person that had snuck into his bed last night. Loki blinked in confusion as the memories came back to him, observing his situation, and quietly grumbled once more. Somehow, he had ended up getting all cuddly-cuddly with his look-alike... and he found himself unwilling to move out of this ridiculous position. It was more like he didn't want to. His vivid green eyes trailed over their body positions and despite the entanglement of limbs, they pieced together perfectly like a puzzle without nudging any bony elbows or knees into each other. Tom had his arms wrapped tightly around his body, drawing him closer with the human's face buried into his hair. Loki could feel the soft breaths bristling against his skin and he honestly couldn't find himself to care at how awkward this felt to him. There was also their body temperatures that just made the whole experience better. While Loki was naturally cold, Tom's body was heater and even with the blankets on top of their forms, the mixture of temperatures kept the insides balanced. Some of Loki's previous lovers had found themselves being kicked out of bed for being too hot (like the Aesirs for having bodies that burn like a furnace).

Normally, if anyone tried this on him while he slept, the said person would find themselves torn into pieces or sent to another dimension to suffer for all eternity. He was not one to sneak up on and attack without some sort of retaliation. Even if he invited someone to bed with him, he wouldn't allow himself to be used like a pillow like this. However, Tom had joined him in bed as a comfort against his nightmares, trying to help calm him down and finally get some decent sleep. He couldn't punish Tom for something like that. Loki huffed again and with some magic, shut off the infernal contraption in the other room. Silence. It was absolutely quiet now, just him and Tom in bed. Shifting closer towards the human, he took a deep breath and sighed, closing his eyes once more. A little more sleep would do him some good, same with the mortal too.

* * *

Tom woke up an hour later, feeling oddly refreshed and fully rested, and shifted slightly in his bed until he felt something rub up against him. He paused, squeezing his eyelids together in confusion as he tried to identify the object or body against him. Moments later as he failed to recognize the being, he finally opened his eyes, peering down, and blinked. It took him a few seconds to comprehend that the person before him was actually Loki, especially when he was _this_ close, but how had he gotten here...

'Oh, that's right.' He had slept in Loki's bed last night because of a nightmare. Tom sighed in relief, relaxing against the other before smiling to himself. Funny how they had managed to tangle up into a pile of limbs during that time. As he shifted, Tom wiggled his nose when a few strands of black hair tickled his nose, pulling back slightly, and took that chance to stretch. It was a shame he would have to leave this comfort but he really needed to get up for work. Now that he mentioned it, he probably needed to find out what the time is too. Turning slightly, he glanced at a clock Loki had in his bedroom and froze.

"Well, damn." He whispered. It was about thirty minutes before he had to head out and within seconds of realizing that fact, Tom immediately began to loosen out of Loki's grasp. He was cautiously trying not to wake up the other but it was a little hard when they were so jumbled up on the bed.

"Thomas?" Loki grumbled, tightening his grasp slightly around the blond and glanced up towards those blue eyes. He wasn't fully awake and looked like he was about to fall asleep once more as he shuffled himself closer to the warmth. Without really thinking, he buried his face back into Tom's chest and sighed contently, ready to fall back into that blissfulness.

Tom halted all movement for a moment, finding himself to go anywhere due to the grip wrapped around him. He had completely forgotten about Loki's superior strength and huffed. "Damn, you're strong." He struggled a little longer before surrendering, relenting to using a hand to shake the other awake. All he needed to hear was some angered grumbling to know that the raven was awake. "Loki, I need to get ready for work. I'll be late if I don't leave in thirty minutes."

Loki sneered at the request but released his grasp, watching idly as Tom rushed out of his room to get ready. He, however, remained in bed, listening as his companion scurried around the apartment to get everything together. It was amusing to say at the least. However, he knew that Tom's lateness had been caused by him this time and that the human had somehow managed to calm his restlessness issues for the night. Perhaps he should offer to teleport Tom to work today for gratitude. Loki smirked to himself as he closed his eyes once more and nestled into his bed. Maybe when he human walks by his room. After all, Tom needs some time to make breakfast for him, Loki refuses to search for his own when hardly awake.

* * *

After the sleeping incident, Tom hadn't felt any night disturbances from Loki the next night. He smiled to himself over breakfast that very morning, glad that he had been helped out even just a tiny bit. It wasn't something he really thought he would do (considering the whole list of problems the other had) but if it made Loki a little happier then there was no harm. Tom knew for a fact that Loki would _never_ admit to being vulnerable to nightmares of all things, or to anything for that matter, and he was alright with that. Still, he hoped that Loki would come to him when needed when that trust between them had built up. There was no need for the immortal to suffer like that on his own.

That was why on the third night, Tom found himself waking up during the middle of sleep from a small nudge against his mind. It took only seconds to realize what it was about.

"Ah, so it starts again." Tom huffed quietly to himself, slipping out of bed to stand up. He stretched lazily, listening as some of his bones cracked at the disuse before making his way towards his bedroom door with his alarm clock in hand this time. If he was going to sleep in Loki's room, he didn't want to take the chances of waking up late again. Rubbing the back of his neck, he slipped down the hallway towards Loki's room and opened the unlocked door gently to not awaken the sleeping immortal within. He peeked inside first and sighed at the sight, recognizing the tight expression around Loki's eyes and brows. The raven was most definitely having another nightmare. It was a little concerning to Tom that they were appearing more often than not and so close together.

Tom stepped around the bed, placing his alarm clock on the bed stand before carefully slipping into the bed. He immediately guided his arms around Loki's waist and chest, drawing the raven closer to his own. He shivered slightly from the contrast of their skin, the other being ice cold. This time, the immortal was turned away from him but it didn't matter. Tom shifted closer, spooning his companion and buried his nose against the back of Loki's neck. His nose twitched at the long black strands of hair that tickled his skin before closing his eyes, comfortable in this position. Despite the coldness Loki's body admitted, the thick blanket the raven had was more than enough to keep him warm underneath.

Tom made a quick note that he was going to need a serious talk with Loki about these occurrences whether the other wanted to or not. They couldn't be happening this often, it wasn't good physically and mentally. Rubbing some circles into Loki's arms, Tom could feel the other already relaxing into his grasp, his breathing evening out. Unconsciously, Loki shifted back against the human, moaning softly in content.

'Well, this isn't too bad. Wish Loki was like this more often.' Tom thought to himself as he closed his eyes. He found it a little more amusing once he realized that Loki hadn't woken up this time from his appearance.

After what felt like minutes, Tom stirred from slumber to the annoying blaring sound of his alarm clock. Grumbling silently under his breath, he rolled over onto his back and reached out to shut the contraption off. Stretching smoothly in bed, he peered over towards his companion and chuckled gently to himself out of amusement. Sometime during the night, the raven had ended up twisting in his grasp to face him and had curled around his body, tangling their limbs together once more. Loki's face was buried into his right shoulder with his long arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

"You're definitely a cuddlier." Tom chuckled again, slowly and carefully detangling himself from the mess of limbs. Luckily, Loki didn't stir this time either, deep in sleep. However, the moment Tom became free, Loki ended up unconsciously reaching for that warmth that had left him and ended going for a pillow to hold. He buried his nose into the softness and sighed softly.

Tom almost released a snicker at the sight, tempted to take a picture of the absolute adorableness but resisted. Shaking his head, he got started on his morning routine.

* * *

A week and a half later, Tom was utterly exhausted. Loki's nightmares were occurring frequently, too frequently that it was beginning to disturb him too often. Within that time frame, it had happened four more times and it was starting to become a habit for him to wake up in the middle of the night to see if he could sense anything. He couldn't keep going on like that and it was starting to get noticeable to both Loki and his colleagues from the way they were would stare at his tired expression.

That night, fed up with everything, Tom grabbed his stuff from his bedroom and tossed everything into Loki's room without a second thought. If he was going to continue something like this, he might as well stay with the problem source. The raven, not yet asleep as he tended to stay up into the late hours, was with his laptop on the bed and peered up curiously, observing Tom's movements carefully.

"Thomas? Shouldn't you be in bed?" The raven peered at the time, noticing that this was indeed around the time the other went to bed to get a full night rest. Loki normally stayed up longer, being more of a night owl, and slept in considerably since he didn't have much to do during the daytime until Tom arrived back home. It was easier to sleep the hours away and did he enjoy him that sleep.

"Perhaps but at the rate you've been having nightmares, I think I should just stay with you." Tom grumbled, collapsing onto the bed and shifted to one side to give Loki plenty of room to move. He didn't even bother to pull the sheets aside to slip inside and simply lied there with his eyes closed shut. His face was buried into the pillow and hid in the shadow Loki's body created from the bedside lamp.

The raven looked like he was going to make a retort against that accusation, to argue everything about that statement, but ended up silencing himself. He hated to admit it but it was true. His nightmares had been bothering him and no doubt Tom who was getting sensitive to his condition.

"I'm more likely to get some sleep this way." Tom shifted a little in bed to get comfortable and wrapped his arms around the pillow to draw it closer. "Your magic has this horrible tendency to wake me up whenever you're distressed."

"Ah..." The raven wasn't entirely sure on how to respond to that. He hadn't been entirely aware that his magic had been spreading out like that in the first place. He must have unconsciously been seeking out for something safe and Tom simply gave that feeling. Still, he couldn't say anything against Tom's offer, welcoming the fact the other was willing to stay with him without any fear of retaliation. "Thank you."

Tom opened his eyes momentarily, a little shocked at those two words. He hadn't expected the other to actually say something like that. Giving a warm smile, he closed his eyes, proceeding to fall asleep. He was going to need as much rest as possible in order to be fully rested for tomorrow. Lucky for him, he wasn't a light sleeper.

Loki remained quiet, as still as possible, as he watched his companion relax into his bed and finally listened to the gentle breathing that alerted him that Tom had fallen fast asleep. His lips twitched into a smile, shuffling off the bed to move to a better location. The bedside lamp turned off, leaving only the glow of the laptop reflecting off Loki's face. Teleporting out of the room, he settled onto the couch in the living room and placed his feet up onto the table to act as a stand for the machine.

He hadn't expected Tom to actually sleep beside him but it did warm his heart that the blond actually cared for him. It was only right to let the human sleep before sneaking into his own bed later that night.

Loki sighed, this human was just too kind.


	7. Chapter 7

Tom found their newfound sleeping arrangement amusing. He was truly getting a full night's rest, undisturbed by any magic or movement, and Loki was no longer having nightmares that woke the raven up in the middle of the night. Well... not completely. Loki still had them but he calmed down effortlessly when pressing close to a warm familiar body and would drift off to a more steady rest soon after, almost like the whole thing had never occurred. The raven hardly remembered even having the nightmares, the constant contact of Tom's body beside him keeping him stable.

It had taken another month for Tom to move Loki into his own room, his bed being larger and more comfortable for the two of them. The raven didn't have any complaints with the shift and immediately integrated some of his items for closer reach, not wanting to waste energy gathering or teleporting things with magic. As two months flew by, their sleeping schedule became an ingrained pattern: Tom would head to bed early by habit and Loki would stay up during the night before sneaking in a few hours later.

It didn't take long before one of them woke a little _too_ bundled up. Tom never minded, enjoying the natural coolness Loki's body emitted, but for the raven... Well, he didn't know how to respond to someone so close, even with his family or previous lovers. Physical contact wasn't his forte. Loki had woken up mere inches from Tom's face, just close enough that if one nudged just a bit forward accidentally, they would kiss.

Loki found himself burning at the mere thought and would quickly place distance between them by scooting back, detangling himself from the mesh of limbs. He didn't want to get caught in such an awkward situation and, oddly, it wasn't the first time it had happened. Times when he felt he couldn't escape without waking the other, Loki would simply disappear from the bed, settling onto the couch in the living room as he regained his scattered thoughts. It was easier for him this way and it gave him additional time to think and distant himself from the blond.

Sometimes, if it was early in the morning, he would open the windows to let the cold air of London inside, bristling against his cheeks but only when the temperatures dropped low enough during the night. During the summer, the cold air was rare and if Loki really desired some iciness to chill his mind, he would teleport up north where snow was year-round. As much as he hated this nature of his, for he suspected it belonged to his true form, it was comforting to his mind. His body unconsciously sought out the cold now that he understand the cause, but even before finding out the truth of his Jotun nature, he had always enjoyed the cold.

With autumn already in motion, he would take walks on the streets, the air starting to get bitter as time progressively continued on. He couldn't believe that he had already been here for half a year. Loki almost smirked, time could move quickly when it wanted. The streets late at night were normally empty, the moon his only companion. Sometimes streetlights would flicker as he went by, or a car or two would roll through the roads but it never bothered him. Shadows played in the darkness, making images that would scare a mortal, but of course, he wasn't human and he has seen and experienced far worse. He dwelled in the darkness, in the shadow itself where he could whisper frightening words and play with his unknowing victims. Now, after everything that had happened, he still enjoyed a few manipulations here and there, his regular pranks, but in the end, he couldn't find the usual pleasure in it.

He had a purpose back then to play such things but now, there was nothing. He didn't need to protect Thor anymore, his powerful magic wasn't needed in Asgard, his brilliant strategic mind no longer desired by others. He had nothing left...except for Tom and he knew it wouldn't last long. Tom was a human, a mortal whose life would be gone within an instant and who would fade into the distant memories of those like him. His lifespan was fifty to a hundred times longer than a human, if he managed to live that long without getting killed for his stupidity. It was during these midnight walks that he found his mind wandering over these subjects, but eventually he would find some peace, relaxing into the cool dark night.

Once he found himself satisfied, he would stroll back to the shared apartment or teleport back into the warmed comforters. Ignoring the initial shivers Tom released at the change of temperatures, Loki found the warmth built up underneath absolutely delightful. It pulled him in and soothed him to fall deep asleep, not even stirring when the alarm clock went off or when Tom slipped out of his grasp for his morning jog. Sometimes, when he was bordering the wakeful state, he could feel warm fingers brushing against his forehead as it pushed his bangs out of the way or when they threaded through his hair. Loki would unconsciously lean into that gentle touch, smiling softly in content, and was immediately pulled back into a deep slumber.

It was obvious they were bouncing around the issue between them, the fact that two grown men were comfortably sharing a bed and snuggling like nothing was wrong. Neither of them wanted to touch the issue, content with how things were currently going.

* * *

"Hey, Tom!"

The blond actor blinked curiously, spinning around to glance at one of his fellow coworkers and friends that had suddenly called him out in the middle of the set. Chris Hemsworth, the one that played Thor, grinned brightly and easily wrapped an arm around Tom's shoulders, pulling the other closer.

"Want to head out to the pubs? I think we deserve it after a day like this!"

The massive grin on Chris's expression made it hard to refuse and Tom simply sighed, reluctantly agreeing. It was always hard to say 'no' to him. "Sure, no problem. Been needing some time to relax."

"Oh? Busy at home? Family problems?" Chris indulged as they slipped out of the filming area, trying to call for a cab. Neither of them had taken their own cars today, Tom teleported by Loki and Chris dropped off by his wife since she had some errands to run.

Tom simply smiled. "Not exactly, just occupied."

"Want to expand on that, mate?"

"Not really. I wouldn't know how to explain it anyway but everything is fine, don't worry about it." The blond shrugged his shoulders, glancing towards the parking lot filled with vehicles with the back gate guarded to prevent visitors or reporters from getting in. A couple of cabs drove by during the stretch and Tom glanced towards his friend. "So where to?"

"The usual place. I'll invite some others if they're not too busy. They can always make their way over once they're done."

"Sure, that's fine with me."

Once they flagged down a taxi, they hopped in and told the driver the address before letting him do the work for them. As the car slipped through the streets, the two actors in the back caught up on what had been happening the last few months, chatting endlessly over the productions they had been to. Tom held back any information about Loki, not entirely sure how the other would react to having a Norse God in real life or that there were other dimensions, their own just one in a million. Still, he had plenty of other subjects to go through to keep Chris occupied.

As they arrived at the bar, they slipped inside and took their seats at a table far from the windows, waiting for a waiter/waitress to make their way around. It was busy like usual but that was all the better. It was harder for them to be recognized when there were crowds. They were just another face among everyone else and since they wanted to relax after a hard day of work, it was the best. Drinks came around first and then food, both males chattering as time quickly went by. Music was playing in the background, drowning down the chattering of people, and the doors opened and closed as visitors came and go. Tom caught up on almost everything that Chris had been doing, from family matters to what movies he had gotten a role for. It was enjoyable to finally speak with someone so openly and not have to watch his words (excluding Loki of course but in a different way). Those outside the movie business sometimes just listened to see if they could make a quick buck, pulling any dirt on the actors for the media to absorb.

As their drinks vanished, Tom offered to head to the bar to get two more glasses. It was his turn to pay for this round and as he squeezed his way through to the front, he quickly caught the attention of the bartender. She took one glance at him and smiled.

"Hey, handsome. How can I help you tonight?"

Tom laughed, flattered by the comment. "Thanks but just two refills please." He held out his empty containers in one hand, his cash in the other. He smiled and gave the name of the beers they had been gulping down, watching as the bartender went about for the refills. They chatted to each other momentarily as no one else was ordering but it was just simple conversation topics easy to expand on without digging into each other's personal lives. Tom knew Chris was staring at the back of his head, still waiting for his drink, and sighed, pulling away.

"Well, it was nice talking to you and all but I got to go. I have an impatient friend wanting his drink. Thanks a lot though."

"No problem, I completely get it." The bartender smirked, chuckling in amusement, before turning her attention to something else. "Quick question, are you single?"

Tom blinked, not expecting such a blunt statement. "Um... yes, I'm single."

"Well, if you want to know, I'm available in an hour. I'm off for the rest of the night if you're interested." The bartender winked. "Want to go out for a date, handsome?"

Tom stared, his bright blue eyes blinking rapidly as his mind began to process the inquiry. How was he supposed to respond to that? Well, he could act like normal and throw it off or even accept, laughing like usual. He knew he was attractive, his fans spouting their declarations of love in-person and on the internet, but he didn't think he was that lucky. Chris was more attractive than him, which left him amazed she hadn't asked for the blond's number instead. Still, he never bothered with fans as many of them just wanted fame or even to just claim to be his girlfriend to the news. It was bothersome and he learned that very quickly early in his career.

However, he couldn't just bring someone home, not when there was a certain raven waiting for him. Tom smiled, his lips stretching quite wide and chuckled softly as he pictured Loki's annoyed expression. "I appreciate the praise, love, but I must decline your offer. Thank you though, but perhaps you'll find someone a little more right for yourself."

Tom glanced towards Chris, observing the other's despite being across the room. He shook his head and made a little wave that he didn't want to speak about the matter. Drink in hand, he took a long swig to help push his thoughts back before making his way back towards his table. He had no doubt that Chris would ask why he hadn't taken her offer, but explaining the real reason would be too much of pain. Despite the alcohol running through his veins, his mind kept wandering back to Loki.

* * *

"I'm back, Loki!" Tom called out into the apartment after closing the front door shut. He didn't need the neighbors to hear him saying such things when some already knew about him and were polite enough to not ask questions. He stepped a little further into the hallway after depositing his shoes and jacket at the front and peeked into the living room where he spotted Loki laid out on the couch. The raven was sleeping peacefully, undisturbed even by his arrival, with his head resting on the pillow. He was facing the telly, probably watching something before he tumbled off into sleep. As Tom got closer, he kneeled down at the side to observe the peaceful expression that was quite unusual on the raven and smiled gently. It was nice to see Loki relaxing like this, unbothered by princely duties, his family, or the outside world. The blond wished these moments could last forever but he knew better, he had to wake the raven up to get to bed. If he let Loki sleep here all night, the immortal would be a hellion in the morning.

Tom leaned down with one hand and carefully shook his shoulder, observing the way the other twitched at contact. "Loki, wake up." He nudged a little harder. "You can't sleep here on the couch. You'll be sore in the morning."

The immortal mumbled under his breath before opening his eyes slowly, rapidly blinking them as he tried to clear his sleepiness. They focused on the blond before him and Loki's lips tugged up into a smile. "Ah, welcome back, Thomas. When did you arrive?"

"Just now." The blond beamed at the adorable sight (not that he could ever admit that to Loki) and pulled back slightly to give him room to sit up. "Now come on, to bed with you."

Loki didn't struggled and actually got up with ease from a little nudge, making his way towards their shared bedroom. He yawned momentarily, unbothered that Tom was following behind, and the second he collapsed into bed he was once more asleep. Tom chuckled softly at the sight and maneuvered the sheets to cover the raven while shaking his head at the hilarity. It was adorable how Loki acted at times, like a child in an adult body, and Tom eventually pulled away to get ready for bed. It was times like this that he realized that Loki was a real person and not someone he played with inside his head for a movie role. Closing the bathroom door, Tom hoped that Loki would never change for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will start the main part of the story. Yay!


End file.
